U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

NBS SPECIAL PUBLICATION 680-2

100

U57

ito. 630-2 _

1985
Cover photo: Metallurgist

Frank Biancaniello prepares a

rapidly solidified metallic

glass ribbon on a melt spinning apparatus for studies on

the properties of rapidly

solidified metal alloys.

See page 8.
NBS

Research

Reports

m/H6ML fit/fiEAU CF STANDARDS

LIBRARY

Research Uodate 2 NBS and Steel Producers Join in High-Risk Research 4 Metals-Processing Technology for the Future 8

Diagrams for Designing Alloys 9

Radiation: Keeping the Genie Under Control 11

Tools and Technology for the Building Industry 15

New Facility Used to Simulate Earthquake Forces 18

Welcome to the New Computer Age: The Era of Networks 20

NBS Perspective on Open Systems Interconnection 26

NBS Adds Credibility to Energy-Related Inventions 28

New Publications 30

Conference Calendar 32

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary

National Bureau of Standards

Ernest Ambler, Director

National Bureau of Standards

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

301/921-1000

National Bureau of Standards

Boulder, CO 80303

303/497-3000

February 1 985

NBS Special Publication 680-2

Prepared by the Public Information Division Sharon Shaffer, Editor A903 Administration Building National Bureau of Standards

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

301/921-3181

Library of Congress

Catalog Card Number: 84-601166

CODEN: XNBSAV

CONTENTS

1
RESEARCH UPDATE

ADIATION DAMAGE TO DNA

MEASURED WITH NEW

METHOD

A research associate at the NBS Center for Radiation Research has developed an improved

method for measuring radiation-induced damage to specific sites in the DNA

molecule. Dr. Miral Dizdaroglu uses a

technique called capillary gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy to isolate and identify radiation-induced products of all four DNA bases in a sin- gle experimental run. The technique is expected to be particularly useful to re- searchers seeking to understand bio- chemical mechanisms for repairing damaged DNA. Changes to the four DNA

bases—adenine, guanine, thymine, and

cytosine—whether caused by radiation, chemicals, or natural processes, are believed to play an important role in pro- cesses that cause cancer or mutation.

EFERENCE MATERIALS

DESIGNED FOR "THIN" SPECIMENS

Laboratories that use x-ray fluo- rescence spectrometry for ele- mental analysis of "thin" specimens

such as airborne pollutants or toxic particles in waste water can now calibrate instruments reliably using either of two new NBS Standard Reference Materials (SRM's). Developed in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the materials were pro- duced initially to assist EPA in measuring

various elemental particles from ambient

air samples gathered on filters. But be- sides being used to calibrate x-ray spectrometers, the SRM's may be used by

manufacturers as a "yardstick" in the production of commercial secondary

standards, which have not been trace- able to an internationally recognized

standard before now. Each SRM consists of a 0.55- micrometer-thick glass film deposited onto a polycarbonate filter mounted on

an aluminum ring and contains known

concentrations of various elements. One

of the new materials, SRM 1832, is certi- fied for the concentrations of aluminum,

silicon, calcium, vanadium, manganese,

cobalt, and copper. Its companion, SRM

1833, is certified for silicon, potassium, ti- tanium, iron, zinc, and lead. The new

SRM's are $398 each and are available from the Office of Standard Reference

Materials, B311 Chemistry Building, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg,

MD 20899, 301/921-2045.

EW GENERATION OF

SMALL ATOMIC CLOCKS

DEVELOPED

Scientists in the NBS Time and

Frequency Division have devel- oped a new generation of miniaturized,

passive hydrogen clocks that are far superior to presently available portable ce- sium clocks; they keep time to within less than 4 nanoseconds (billionths of a sec- ond) per week versus 20 nanoseconds

for portable cesium clocks. The new hydrogen clocks have a frequency stability and timekeeping ability which is far superior to any presently available portable

cesium device, according to a recent NBS report. The NBS clock weighs 30 kg and is 26.7 cm tall, 66 cm deep, and 49.5 cm

wide. It will be used for precision timing

in conjunction with satellite-based navi- gation and communications systems,

where portability and precision are especially crucial. Commercial production

of a clock based on the NBS design is expected shortly. A copy of a paper describing the new clock is available from

Fred McGehan, Division 360.2, National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, CO

80303.

IRST COMPOSITE SUPERCONDUCTOR SRM ON SALE

The first composite super- conductive wire Standard Ref- erence Material (SRM 1457)

has been certified for critical current at various magnetic fields from 2 to 8 tesla and temperatures between 3.9 and 4.24

K. The SRM consists of 2.2 m of multi- filament niobium-titanium wire, stabilized

with copper, and evaluated for 34 parameters relating to current, voltage, magnetic field, temperature, strain, and physical sample characteristics. Used with ASTM standard test method B714-82

(D-C Critical Current of Composite Superconductors), the SRM will provide cali- brations of instrumentation used for measuring key parameters of superconductor

products. Orders may be placed with the

Office of Standard Reference Materials,

B311 Chemistry Building, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD

20899, 301/921-2045. Price is $219 per

unit of 2.2 m.

DVANCED CERAMICS OFFER

LARGE MARKET, REPORT

SAYS

U.S. shipments of advanced

ceramic products could grow more than five-fold to reach $10 billion annually by the end of the century if key

technological barriers can be overcome,

according to a new study prepared by

Charles River Associates (CRA) for NBS.

The development of the new class of high-performance materials could bring

about substantial productivity and market

gains for a variety of industrial sectors, leading to improved U.S. competitiveness

in world markets. Advanced ceramics

also could reduce U.S. dependence on

foreign sources of supply for scarce or

critical resources, although not to the extent some have suggested previously, says the report. "Ceramics often have

been considered to be low-technology

products with little potential for advanced

applications," notes NBS economist

Gregory Tassey. "This study shows that new, advanced types of ceramic materials offer a wide range of applications for industry with a substantial market value." The development of standard test pro- cedures, well-characterized standard ref- erence materials, and improved nondestructive evaluation technology were

listed by CRA as the most important

measurement and standards barriers keeping U.S. industry from reaching the

substantial economic potential of ad- vanced ceramic materials.

2
STRAIN-RESISTANT SUPERCONDUCTORS FOUND

A class of superconducting

compounds offering greatly im- proved strain characteristics has been discovered and its application

patented by NBS and Westinghouse re- searchers. The discovery means that the windings of superconducting magnets,

coils, motors, and generators and other superconducting devices such as trans- mission lines can be made to withstand

much more tension or compression than

present design limits allow without losing

their superconductivity.

When common (A15) superconductors

used in high-magnetic field applications are subjected to tensile or compressive

strains of as little as 0.5 percent, they can lose more than half of their capacity

to carry current. The newly patented materials, of the B1 and C15 crystal

classes, show no degradation in critical current or ability to withstand highmagnetic fields, even when strains of 1.0

to 1.2 percent are encountered. B1 and

C15 compounds include NbN, NbCN,

and V2 (Hf,Zr). Patent and exclusive and

non-exclusive licensing information is available from Robert Auber, Office of Federal Patent Licensing, Box 1423, National Technical Information Service,

Springfield, VA 22151, 703/487-4732.

BS, ILL TO COLLABORATE

ON COLD NEUTRON TECHNOLOGY

NBS and the Institut Max von

Laue-Paul Langevin (ILL) of Grenoble, France, have agreed to set up

a 5-year program of collaborative re- search to develop the use of cold neutron beams for materials research and

similar experiments. Cold neutron beams

are required in advanced materials re- search to study such things as the magnetic properties of new alloys and the mi- crostructure of new high-performance

ceramics and semiconductor materials. They also have important applications in chemistry and biotechnology.

The two laboratories will exchange in- formation and guest researchers and

work out joint programs to develop specific instrumentation and techniques for cold neutron research. Low-temperature

neutron-scattering equipment, neutron

guides, and neutron optical devices are

typical research topics. ILL operates the

world's best research center for the use

of very low-energy ("cold") neutrons. NBS is developing what will be the larg- est cold neutron facility in the United States.

OINT PROJECT AIMS AT BET- TER USE OF PAPER BY- PRODUCTS

The paper industry should be

able to use the heavy fuels pro- duced in the paper manufacturing pro- cess more efficiently following a 5-year

joint project recently begun between

NBS and the Institute for Paper Chemistry (IPC). Heavy fuels, or "black liquor," are by-products of wood digestion in the papermaking process. These are later burned in a fixed-bed reactor (recovery

boiler) to produce steam for energy conversion and to recover some of the pa- per process chemicals, such as sodium

sulfide, for reuse.

Scientists in the NBS Center for Chemical Engineering are collaborating with IPC to develop a scaled-down laboratory reactor for studying heat-induced chemical changes and the behavior of fuel particles that occur in the larger fixed- bed reactors. Using techniques such as

laser diagnostics, the NBS/IPC team

hopes to understand better the funda- mentals of the chemical recovery pro- cess so that recovery and energy conversion efficiency can be improved.

OWER CALIBRATION CAPABILITIES EXTENDED TO 400

HERTZ

The NBS Center for Electronics and Electrical Engineering has

developed new capabilities for calibrating

power-measuring instruments at 400

hertz. As commercial and military aircraft, as well as spacecraft, are powered at

400 hertz, aerospace and power instru- ment manufacturers need accurate meters for measurements at this elevated frequency level. To develop this special- ized capability, the Bureau has used NBS

power measurement standards, which were shown to have overall calibration uncertainties of less than 0.05 percent,

and the NBS-developed phase-angle cal- ibration standard. The phase-angle standard is a precise

and stable two-channel signal source which generates phase-related voltages.

Amplifiers are used to convert one lowlevel signal voltage to a high-level signal

(at 120 volts) and the other to a current

signal (at 5 amperes). Comparison measurements between the responses to these signals of the instrument being evaluated and the NBS power measurement standard provide the cali- bration. For technical details, contact Dr. Robert E. Hebner, B344 Metrology Building, National Bureau of Standards,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 301/921-3121.

NDUSTRY TO STUDY THIN FILMS

FOR SEMICONDUCTORS AT NBS

GTE Laboratories, Inc., Waltham,

Mass., is sponsoring a research

associate at NBS to study and

develop the growth of thin film layers on

semiconductors. Dr. Brian Ditchek of GTE will use the NBS Center for Materials Science thin film facility to develop

materials that are more consistent in quality and have better electrical properties for use as metallic connectors in in- tegrated circuits. He will assist in the preparation and analysis of thin film materials and provide NBS with information on industry needs. The NBS Research

Associate Program provides an opportunity for scientists and engineers from

industry, technical societies, and other

organizations to conduct cooperative re- search at the Bureau on projects of mutual interest, with their salaries paid by

the sponsor.

3
NBS and Steel Producers

Join in High-Risk Research

s fast and thick as honey draws

flies, a venture on the upswing

draws glad-handers and one on

the downswing draws

finger-pointers.

The U.S. steel industry has had

a "bellyful of retrospective crit- icism, thank you," says Dr. William Dennis, vice president for manufacturing and research of the American Iron and Steel Insti- tute (AISI), in answer to a question about industry problems.

"Look at the problems only for what they can tell us about the

future," he says. Then he turns on his questioner

with a smile and asks, "What do

you think is the biggest internal problem facing the industry to- day? The biggest external problem?" The answers, which he

later supplies, are residual inertia (internal) and the strength of the

doliar (external). Not everyone would agree with

his assessment, but Dennis

speaks with a bluff authority born

of some 30 years' varied experi- ence in the industry. He says the

inertia problem resulted from de- cades of being the unchallenged

top dog, when the winning for- mula was "Tonnage pays for all." The clear objective in those years was to maximize output for a

steel-hungry world. Now it's time to change the for- mula. New technology is un- doubtedly part of the answer, ac- cording to Dennis. The steel

industry, through the American

Iron and Steel Institute, began in 1981 to develop a set of long- range research priorities and to seek research partners within and

outside the industry. The resulting collaborative steel technology

program, now well under way, in- volves many steel-making companies, private organizations such

as the Electric Power Research

Institute and the Gas Research

Institute, and several federal laboratories, including the National Bureau of Standards.

Robert Jeffress, AISI metallurgical engineer in manufacturing

and research, explains some of AISI's goals for collaborative re- search: "We want to develop and

exploit technologies that will im- prove the quality and reduce the

cost-per-ton of producing steel. This is one way to make domestic

steel more competitive." Specifically, AISI wants to advance basic technologies, such as ladle metallurgy; develop money-saving

waste-recycling and resource- recovery techniques; and develop

sophisticated automatic sensing

devices for computer-controlled

processing.

"These are long-term, nonproduct-oriented, high-risk

projects," Jeffress says. "Steel companies don't have the money

or the people to go it alone in high-risk ventures any more.

AISI's strategy is to pool industry

money, work with other or- ganizations, and get government

"We want to develop and

exploit technologies that

will improve the quality

and reduce the cost-perton of producing steel."

support to leverage our limited re- sources for high-risk research."

Dr. Lyle Schwartz, director of NBS' Center for Materials Sci- ence, views the Bureau as a natural player in this cooperative re- search scenario. NBS is the

single federal laboratory whose

mission in part is to conduct basic and applied research in support

of American industry.

"The great strength of this country is its scientific superiority," says Schwartz. "The steel in- dustry wants to take advantage of

this strength and extend its tech- nology. In certain areas, NBS—

the materials center in particular— has capabilities and

expertise that are both unusual and essential to that effort." Many of the Bureau's programs

relate to the steel industry, either

directly or indirectly, but Schwartz

points to three in particular that, he feels, are "central to the whole thrust of improving steel- making technology": a process sensor program being carried out

in cooperation with AISI; a phase

diagram program to collect, certify, and disseminate data on

metal alloys, which is a collaborative project with the American

Society for Metals funded by in- dustry and government; and a

materials research effort exploring metals-processing tech- nologies for producing new and

improved alloys.*

Schwartz says, "These kinds of programs are the very heart of what NBS is about." The sensor

project is an outgrowth of two basic, ongoing Bureau activities: metallurgical research and measurement method development.

The phase diagram work relates

to NBS' responsibility for data

collection and dissemination. The

metals-processing program pro- duces basic data on materials properties—and it is also a showcase of direct technology

transfer. NBS researchers, who

are quantifying the effects of

rapid-solidification technologies on the properties of materials, are

joined in the unique NBS metals- processing laboratory by re- searchers from universities and

other organizations, including pri- vate companies.** (Companies

may cooperate with NBS in public, generic research, or they may

* The metals-processing facility and the phase diagram program are discussed in separate articles on page 8 and page 9 , re- spectively.
use the Bureau's metals- processing facilities for proprietary research under a

reimbursable plan.)

Inside Steel: Temperature

and the Speed of Sound

The steel industry would like to have an automatic sensing device

that generates profiles of the in-

**Under the NBS Research Associate Pro- gram, established in the 1920's, scientists and engineers from private companies,

trade associations, technical societies, and

other organizations conduct cooperative re- search at NBS on projects of mutual inter- est, with salaries paid by their respective employers. For further information, write or

call the Industrial Liaison Officer, A402 Administration Building, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 301/921-3591.

temal temperature of hot steel. Internal temperature is now esti- mated from surface temperature

measurements made with pyrometers. Both the surface temperature measurements and the techniques that relate them to in- ternal temperature are inaccurate. With an accurate method for detecting internal temperature, mills could reduce energy consumption

and increase productivity—for an

estimated annual savings of $275

million industry wide, according to an industry survey. NBS metallurgist Dr. Haydn

Wadley heads a team of researchers, including research associates

from three steel companies, who

are working on promising new

NBS researchers view one of the steel samples

used in data gathering experiments in the NBS

steel sensor laboratory. Shown from left are

metallurgist Dr. Haydn Wadley, project leader;

technician Kurt Sandstrom; and physicist Floyd

Mauer.

temperature-measuring techniques. In one technique, they di- rect a pulsed laser beam at a hot

steel sample; as the light beam

strikes the hot metal (1000 °C or more), it causes an audible pop

the sound of sudden metal evaporation. The sound wave so generated propagates (passes)

through the steel, causing molecules to vibrate. A device called a

5
transducer can transform the mechanical energy of the moving

molecules into electric signals.

Such signals, when fed into a computer and processed, translate into a temperature reading.

"There is a definite correlation between the speed at which

sound propagates through a solid and the temperature of that

solid," Wadley says. "All you need to know is distance and

time of propagation to calculate

velocity. If this velocity is measured at different temperatures, you obtain a correlation between

quantities."

Actually, the procedure is more

complicated than it sounds. The

speed of sound varies not only

according to temperature but also according to material. For every

type of steel, the correlation is slightly different. "We are devel- oping these correlations as we

go," Wadley says. "They will be- come part of the databases that

will ultimately be necessary for automated process control." Reducing Energy Use

and! Waste

Wadley explains why devel- opment of this kind of sensor is a

1.00

0.80

a

3

2 0.60

0)Q.E

Q) U

0.40

0.20

0.00

0.00 0.40 0.80 1.20 1.60 2.00

Normalized radial distance

This figure shows how closely the NBS sound-pulse method of

temperature reconstruction matches results achieved by

directly measuring the internal temperature of a hot steel

cylinder. Temperature distribution was reconstructed using

four time-of-flight values for the rays shown on the left. As

shown on the right, the actual temperature (smooth curve)

and the reconstructed temperature (stepped curve) are within

5 percent of each other.

high priority: "There are times

during steel production when

knowing the internal temperature

of hot steel could reduce both en- ergy use and waste. For example,

after casting, hot slabs of steel go

into a reheat furnace to get their temperature up to about 1000°C.

Then they go through rollers as

part of the process of making

sheet steel. If a slab going into the reheat furnace is too hot, it overheats and gets 'burned.' This

ruins it, and you can only use it for scrap. If a slab comes out of the reheat furnace and it's too

cool, it may be too hard to roll properly. Then you end up with bad steel whose properties don't

suit the intended application."

This kind of problem occurs in

all mills from time to time. It could

With an accurate method

for detecting internal

temperature, mills could

reduce energy con- sumption and increase

productivity. . . .

be eliminated if accurate auto- matic sensors were used to de- termine internal temperature as

the steel slabs enter and exit the reheat furnace. Temperature sensors might

also increase productivity and

quality during continuous casting. This operation involves the rapid

cooling of molten steel—a pro- cess that improves the ultimate properties of the metal and re- duces production time. In continuous casting, molten steel goes

from a ladle into a tundish—

a

large crucible. It flows from the

tundish through a nozzle and into a narrow, chilled copper mold. As steel passes through the mold, hot liquid comes in direct contact with cold copper, causing

a skin of solid steel to form

around a still molten core. Thus,
the steel strand pulled from the mold is initially part solid, part molten. If the solid surface skin is too thin, the strand will rupture as

it leaves the mold, spilling the contents of the tundish—as much

as 150 tons of liquid steel. This

catastrophic accident, known as a

breakout, is avoidable, but only if the rate of continuous casting

slows to well below the optimum.

Accurate monitoring of the inter- nal temperature of the strand at the mouth of the mold would permit greater control over the pro- cess. Casting could run closer to optimum speed, thus increasing

productivity and product quality without risking a breakout. The laser sensor method can

give two kinds of internal temperature measurements: a simple measure of average temperature

or a more complicated map of temperature distribution. Average

temperature requires only a single measurement; the temperature

profile, Wadley says, "depends

on creating numerous intersecting

paths of sound propagation to get a spatial distribution of temperature. Average temperature

might be good enough for some

applications, but others require the more sophisticated computerbased measurements."

Detecting The Signals

The AISI/NBS temperature sensor team already has perfected a

pulsed infrared laser system for

initiating sound waves in solidi- fying steel. They are working on

the transducer—the device for converting the motion of molecules associated with the sound waves to electricity. This chal- lenge is the only remaining technical obstacle impeding devel- opment of a prototype "average"

temperature sensor. "We're making do with piezoelectric materials for the first sensor because they are readily

available," Wadley says. Piezoelectric materials directly convert

mechanical energy to electricity. The big drawback with them is that they have to come in direct contact with the hot steel. Wadley says, "We are now

near a prototype, and once we

can demonstrate the value of our

technique, we will explore noncontact options, like EMAT's

[electromagnetic acoustic trans- ducers]. EMAT technology is not

far advanced, however."

With EMAT's, a strong magnetic field would have to be in- duced at the surface of the steel. Then, as the steel moves be- cause of the sound wave, an

electric current would be generated in a nearby coil. Ultimately Wadley envisions totally remote sensor systems composed of high-intensity lasers for inducing sound waves in the steel and laser interferometers for measuring the resulting effects.

Cropping With Precision

The principles of the temperature sensor system apply not only to temperature measurement but

also to the detection of gross

defects—internal voids, or pores—that form as steel cools and solidifies in large castings. As

a steel ingot solidifies, for in- stance, it shrinks and internal pores form in the upper portion of the ingot. They must be

"cropped" off to produce a uni- form, quality product.

Experience and educated

guesswork are the only guides for cropping at present. To assure

quality, the producer has to overcrop—crop until several cuts

reveal no pores. The expense of such waste drives up the cost of

steel. Measuring ultrasound reflec- tions from within various sections

of a piece of steel would quickly reveal the presence and location

of pores, replacing guesswork

with a precise basis for cropping.

The technique is analogous to

To measure the internal temperature in a steel

billet, laboratory assistant Christian Turner

combines a piezoelectric detector with a rapidly

scanned laser

sonar techniques for detecting

undersea objects.

The sensor work at NBS is not aimed at producing an industrial instrument, whether for measuring

temperature or detecting flaws. "We are developing concepts,

proving their validity, and working on laboratory prototypes," NBS'

Wadley says. "The evolution from

the proven concepts to the plant

floor is up to industry. It's a transition only industry can make."

Industrial research associates,

like Bernie Droney from Bethlehem

Steel, David Rogers from U.S.

Steel, and James Cook of Armco

work at NBS in the laser sensor

program. They will be the agents of

that transition.

by Julianne Chappell

NBS Writer-Editor
li'lils+fiiiiisllal

etween the world wars, NBS had

nine small, experimental "factories" operating at once, producing optical glass, rubber, paper, cement, clay products, gages,

cotton, wool, and alloy metals. Today's manufacturing activities are modest by comparison, but NBS is again making metal alloys, using unconventional rapidsolidification processes. NBS' purpose, however, is highly conventional: to study materials in relation to the process

that produces them—

In the metals-processing lab-

•> >«.-. *tty, physicist Robeirfl Schaefe^ isses am eieefresi

beam surface melting technique to produce alloy coat- ings on metals for improved

sion. A test chamber close up

shows the electron beam

melting a metal surface

(detail).

measurement intensive research

to support industrial advances.

Rapid-solidification processes speed the transition from molten

to solid metal, thus preserving to a large extent the even distribu- tion of alloy elements characterUBS" purpose, however,

is. . .to study materials in relation to the process

that produces them. . . .

istic of the liquid state. Depending

on the process and the combination of elements, rapid solidi- fication may even produce a "new" material such as metallic

glass. Metallic glass—like all glass—is technically not a solid; it is a supercooled liquid that "froze" before the natural transi- tion to the crystalline phase could

begin.

In general, rapid solidification can improve materials properties

like strength or wear resistance. It can also induce unusual properties, such as low magnetic loss in materials that normally show a

high loss. NBS researchers are determining how, and quantifying the extent to which, processing

parameters (such as differences

in solidification rates) affect the

alloy microstructures that control such properties.

Rapid-solidification technology

has been in experimental use for nearly 25 years, with limited appli- cation over the past 1 0 years in the manufacture of specialty metal parts. In the 1980's, however, alloy metals producers

worldwide have begun to explore

the technology's broad untapped

potential for competitive advantage. One domestic corporation

estimates, for example, that its new energy-efficient electric transformers, made using rapid

solidification, can save the electric power industry $1.5 billion a

year.

Not surprisingly, NBS rapidsolidification research and the Bureau's unique metals-processing

laboratory are attracting a growing clientele from the industrial community.

"We make our facilities avail- able to industrial scientists for ex- ploratory types of measurements

on new alloys," says Dr. John

Manning, head of the metals- processing laboratory. "People can come here, do an experimental run, and take the results back to their own labs for further investigation if they want." Manning explains that companies have several other opportunities for making use of the NBS facility. There is, of course,

the Research Associate Program.

The fruits of research done under

this and other cooperative ar- rangements are "shared" by the associates and NBS scientists. Now, however, the Bureau is opening the laboratory to proprietary research, on a cost- reimbursable basis. Manning says, "We have a very

sophisticated laboratory, and we

want to give all kinds of companies the opportunity to use it for exploration. By making proprietary

research possible, we hope to get more participation by companies

that aren't in the Fortune 500 and

can't afford to experiment on their own. The exposure could give

them new options."

The NBS laboratory contains

apparatus for several different

rapid-solidification processes: microparticle atomization, melt spinning, and surface melting. A hot

isostatic press is available to consolidate atomized powder into metal parts. A plasma-transferred

arc system is used to study

surface-coating processes. For further information on laboratory facilities or research opportunities, write or call Dr. John

Manning, Room A153 Materials

Building, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,

301/921-3354. J.C.
Diagrams

for Designing Alloys

he good data issue has never heated the air of a political de- bate or electrified a social gathering. But ask Ernest Ambler, director of the National Bureau of Standards, and he will tell you reliable technical data are the bedrock of science and engineering

and the most important product

of NBS research. Ask Edward

Langer, managing director of the American Society for Metals

(ASM), and he will tell you what

can happen when good data are

not used in industry.

"Every electronics manufacturer remembers the 'Purple

Plague,' " Langer says. "It virtually crippled the electronics industry. It appeared on transistors and

integrated circuits where electrical contacts were made. The contact was made by aluminizing a portion of the circuit and attaching a

gold wire." The problem was, no one

checked the gold-aluminum alloy

phase diagram. "Had someone

checked it," Langer points out,

NBS metallurgist Dr. Joanne

Murray displays a typical

alloy phase diagram (for the

combination of iron, nickel,

and chromium) on a computer

terminal.

"they would have known that the gold and aluminum elements

would fuse together." And fuse they did, forming a purple bi- metallic compound on the circuit and causing failures in millions of components throughout the

industry.

In the Purple Plague instance, a

reliable phase diagram was avail- able. It takes time, however, for engineers or metallurgists trying to select or design an alloy for a

particular application to search

the literature for a phase diagram

they can trust. As Langer points

out, someone can search for months and come up empty

handed.

Depending on many factorsincluding the urgency of market

demand—some people buckle to a possibly arduous and time- consuming research task, and

some, like those responsible for the plague, choose instead to wing it. But what is a phase diagram? A

phase diagram is a graphic repre- sentation of information about the

physical and chemical states of materials and the thermodynamic

transitions between phases.

(Thermodynamically speaking,

phases are stages of the three fundamental states of matter:

liquid, solid, and gas.) The principal focus of a phase diagram

is on which crystalline

phase(s)—the solid state has

several crystalline phases—

a

metal or ceramic alloy will exhibit depending on temperature and

composition. With such information, a metallurgist or engineer can design or specify an alloy that has properties suited to a

particular application.

Seldom are the penalties for ig- noring phase diagrams as blatant as in the case of the Purple

Plague. But the lack of readily

available, current, reliable phase

diagrams is thought to cost the

U.S. economy millions of dollars every year, according to the American Society for Metalsdollars wasted on failures, needlessly duplicated research efforts, and unnecessary overdesign of alloys and metal products.

The metals society and NBS

agreed in 1978 to buckle to the task of getting good, comprehensive, up-to-date data to phase di- agram users in easily accessible

forms—printed compilations and

. . .the lack of readily

available, current, reliable

phase diagrams is thought to cost the U.S.

economy millions of dollars every year. . . .

a computerized graphic database.

The two organizations launched a

small pilot project in 1981. Today,

a full-scale cooperative ASM/ NBS

program—to which organizations

and individuals have, collectively,

pledged $4 million (100 percent

of the ASM goal)—operates

worldwide from its NBS home

base. "NBS provides the overall technical direction," says Dr. Gilbert Ugiansky, deputy chief of the NBS

Metallurgy Division. Ugiansky is acting head of the NBS Alloy

Phase Diagram Data Center. The

center is now the focal point for the ASM /NBS cooperative effort. "This systematic effort is really an

extension of the Bureau's longstanding commitment to industry

to produce and disseminate data on metals and ceramics," he adds. Twelve Bureau staff members

and three industry research associates devote at least part of their time to the cooperative program, and ASM and NBS also support

individual evaluation programs in other laboratories. "We have 37

category editors located all over
the world just to evaluate binary

[2-element] phase diagrams,"

Ugiansky says. NBS sets up the

guidelines and standards for evaluation, which rely on thermodynamic models and reported

laboratory data, and conducts

quality-control checks of the eval- uations submitted by the outside

editors. "We have three NBS cat- egory editors who serve as models," Ugiansky says. "We evaluate

all titanium-based, aluminumbased, and iron-based binary

phase diagrams right here." NBS

researchers also conduct experimental and theoretical work on

alloy systems.

So far 300 evaluation manuscripts have been submitted and

approved; the critically evaluated

phase diagrams have been published, with accompanying biblio- graphic material and supporting

data, in the Bulletin of Alloy Phase

Diagrams. The bulletin is a

bimonthly publication produced

by ASM as part of the collaborative data program. A prototype

computer database is being

developed.

He hopes the binary systems,

totaling about 2,800, will be fin- ished in 5 years—although he

cautions that "handling 500 manuscripts a year, with all the detail work involved, is a formidable

challenge." The nearly 3,500 ter- nary (3-element) systems have

not yet been broached. Barring

unforeseen obstacles, however, all the groundwork will be completed

in 10 to 15 years. Ugiansky says, "NBS will always be the quality-control point

for the database; that's an organic

function of this institution. And

from time to time, ASM may sponsor research associates to help

update the system. Otherwise,

the program will become self- sustaining on the basis of publi- cations and computer-service

charges."

The big pay off is that metallurgists and engineers in need of a phase diagram will no longer

have to choose between a time- consuming (and therefore costly)

foray into the library stacks or a

possibly fatal stab in the dark. They will know where to go for good data. J.C.

Sponsors of the Data Program for

Alloy Phase Diagrams

ASM set $4 million as its fundraising goal for the ASM/NBS

Data Program. It recently met

that goal, thanks to contributions from the following

supporters:

Principal Associates

($200,000 and above)

The Aluminum Association, Inc. American Iron and Steel

Institute Battelle Memorial Institute Cabot Corporation Foundation,

Inc. Carpenter Technology

Corporation

Defense Advanced Research

Projects Agency

Howmet Turbine Components

Corporation IBM Corporation

Inco Limited NASA—Lewis Research Center

Teledyne, Inc.

Associates

($100,000-3200,000)

ARCO Metals Company

ASM Members & Chapters

Buehler Limited GTE Corporation

Rockwell International Corporation

Affiliates ($20,000-$ 100,000)

Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation

Allied Corporation

American Welding

& Manufacturing Co. AT&T Bell Laboratories

Brush Wellman, Inc. Mr. Adolph I. Buehler

Electric Power Research

Institute Fansteel, Inc. Ford Motor Company

General Electric Company

General Motors Corporation

H. H. Harris Foundation

Interlake, Inc. Lindberg Corporation

Lithium Corporation of America

Lockheed Corporation

National Forge Foundation

Perkin-Elmer Corporation

Reading Alloys, Inc. RMI Company

Special Metals Corporation

Standard Oil Company

(Indiana)

TIMET

TRW, Inc. Wyman-Gordon Company

Contributors

($4,000-$20,000)

Chase Brass & Copper Co.

Detroit Chapter, ASM

International Metallographic

Society

International Precious Metals

Institute Massachusetts Materials Research, Inc./Lehigh

Testing Laboratories

Northrop Aircraft Division Packer Engineering

Associates, Inc. Pittsburgh Chapter, ASM

Rolled Alloys, Inc.
Radiation:

Keeping the Genie Under Control

he word "radiation," for many of

us, means medical procedures or nuclear power plants. So you

might be surprised to learn that

radiation also is a tool for an in- creasing segment of American in- dustry and agriculture. A somewhat complex and tricky tool.

In addition to familiar useskilling cancerous cells, probing

the body's innards, checking for cavities—radiation helps to sterilize medical equipment without

the use of harmful chemicals,

helps engineers to find bad welds

in pipelines, helps to destroy in- sect pests in foodstuffs, and even

helps to wrap the holiday turkey.

One expert estimates that ev- eryday uses of radiation are growing at a rate of 20 to 25 percent

per year in this country.

Radiation, like the genies of

folk tales, can be very useful or very harmful. Careful, accurate measurements are needed to keep the genie under control, so

a small group of specialists at the

National Bureau of Standards is working to make sure that those

measurements are possible.

NBS, through its Office of Radiation Measurement, is campaigning to get those who use or regulate radiation into a carefully

organized system of checks and

cross-checks that will help to en- sure that accurate measurements

of radiation exposure can be

made wherever radiation is used

in the United States. As a nonregulatory agency, NBS is looked

to by government and industry

alike for advice on measurement.

Elmer Eisenhower, chief of the NBS Office of Radiation Measurement, and Dr. Wayne

Cassatt, deputy director of the NBS Center for Radiation Research, talked recently about this new system.

Question: You say that you're

working to improve the system of

radiation measurements in the United States. Why?

Cassatt: The quality of radiation measurements in critical areas

like health care is in pretty good

shape. In a number of areas like industrial processing with radi- ation, however, the availability of measurement calibrations and

support is really in need of im- provement. In other words, we

need to make sure that good

measurement support services are available in a timely fashion

to ensure that radiation measurements are as accurate as

they should be.

Physicist Paul Lamperti

adjusts an ion-chamber type

detector in an x-ray calibration facility (laser beam is used to align the detector).

The ion chamber will be used

as a "transfer standard" to

calibrate x-ray sources and

other detectors.

11
Dr. Wayne Cassatt, deputy

director, NBS Center for Radiation Research

Eisenhower: We have done

tests over the last 10 or 15 years. They were usually very limited tests of some groups to see how

well they were performing measurements, but in every case we

found that there were some people who were way out in left field as far as the accuracies of their measurements were concerned.

That's the kind of thing that can

be corrected under this system,

because the people who choose

to participate will be tested

periodically.

Question: Is the use of radiation

in the United States increasing?

Eisenhower: It increases ata

rate of 20 to 25 percent each

year. In some areas, like industrial radiation processing, it is probably

increasing even faster than that. And if processing food with radi- ation catches on commercially,

it'll just go out of sight. Nuclear

medicine is growing rapidly too, at about the same rate.

Question: What are some of the

industrial uses of radiation? Cassatt: Sterilization of medical

supplies is perhaps the most important, but in terms of volume,

the radiation enhancement of plastics is probably the biggest

single use of radiation. Eisenhower: That refers to pro- cesses that turn monomers into polymers, for example, or that

build "shrink" characteristics into

plastics. You can slip

a tube of these plastics onto a pair of pliers for a handle, or onto a bundle of wires, heat it, and have it shrink

to fit. The holiday turkey that you buy may be wrapped in that kind

of plastic. Cassatt: In the area of agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration has suggested a new regulation that would allow foods to be irradiated up to a total dose of 100 kilorads and spices up to 3

million rads. This kills insects and

their eggs and thereby preserves

the food for long-term shipment

and storage. There appears to be

no damage to the food itself at these radiation levels. It also may

make it possible to sell products

from areas where there is known

infestation to places that would

normally quarantine those

products.

Question: How important are ac- curate measurements in these cases?

Cassatt: They are usually very

important. Accurate measurements help ensure that you've given enough radiation for the purpose—sterilizing medical

equipment, for example—and

that's important.

Also, in most cases too much

radiation damages the material- causes embrittlement of plastics,

for example. So to be effective you have to keep the process be- tween those two limits. Question: You mentioned a need

in some areas to improve "measurement calibrations and support." What do you mean by

"measurement support"?

Cassatt: What we call "measurement assurance procedures."

Performing

a calibration can help you determine the capability of a

given instrument, but

a measurement assurance procedure,

". . .we need to make

sure that good measurement support ser- vices are available in a

timely fashion. . . ."

which is more thorough, helps you to determine how well that in- strument is actually being used by

the people making the measurements. There are two levels

of measurement quality assur- ance that are very important. One

is to determine that the cali- brations of the instruments themselves are being done

accurately—as accurately as needed. The other is to determine

that the instrument, in the hands

of the user, is producing accurate measurements. Eisenhower: Typically, in a measurement quality assurance pro- gram, we will calibrate an instru- ment here and send it out to the users and ask them to calibrate it themselves. Then we compare

the two answers to see if their calibration agrees with ours. We

decide with them ahead of time

how close that agreement needs

to be for their purposes. If their measurement is not good

enough, then we look into why it isn't and help them to correct it. This sort of quality assurance pro- cedure hasn't generally been

done in the past. Rather, people have made

statements—and they still dothat their measurements are "traceable to NBS" without ever

defining what that means. Usually

12
it doesn't mean anything except

that someone, at some time, had

an instrument calibrated by NBS,

and they have a piece of paper in their files to prove it. But they

have no idea whether or not they

are really making good measurements, because that larger

system of making measurements

has never been tested. Now we intend to help provide

the sort of documentation that shows exactly what people are

doing, if they participate in the system. Their measurement

procedures—how they interact with their clients—will be documented. The interaction between

them and NBS will be documented. Their quality control pro- cedures will be documented.

Question: You'll do this for every

laboratory and company in the United States that wants

to make accurate radiation measurements?

Eisenhower: That's not possible.

There is only one NBS, and there

are more and more people getting into the business of making

radiation measurements at the

field level. The only solution that we can

see is to bring into play an inter- mediate level of so-called "sec- ondary" laboratories. They will get their calibrations and per- formance checks from NBS and,

in turn, provide calibrations and

measurement quality assurance

services for people in the field. Our idea is to have three separate components of the system, one for users in the private sector, one for the federal government, and one for state governments. Four components if you

count medical and industrial users

in the private sector separately. It makes sense to break it up this way because one then avoids any

potential problems with conflict of

interest between the regulators

and those being regulated.

NBS works with each of these groups more or less separately,

helping to set up secondary laboratories in each sector. We have

things going on in each of these

sectors at the moment, so we

have a start at getting the whole

system going, but we still have a

long way to go. Question: And you regulate the performance of these secondary

labs? Eisenhower: No. NBS is not a

regulatory agency, we simply pro- vide measurement services. In each of these sectors, we try to work with an appropriate or- ganization which sets up a pro- gram to accredit the secondarylevel laboratories. For example, since 1975 we

have been working with the Conference of Radiation Control Pro- gram Directors, CRCPD, which is the national organization to which

the individual state radiation control officers belong. Our major

project has been to set up a number of "regional" secondary laboratories in the state government

sector. The regional radiation cali- bration laboratory in Springfield,

Illinois, which was accredited by

the conference last June, was the

first of five to be developed in this fashion. We are also working with the states of Washington, South

Carolina, California, and Arkansas

to develop secondary radiation

calibration labs in those regions.

In July, we sponsored a workshop for companies and or- ganizations in the private sector

to get started working with them.

In this case we still need to identify the appropriate organization

to work with on accreditation. That is for the non-medical

part. In the medical area, radi- ation therapy in particular, we

have a good program with the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. The AAPM accredits laboratories, based partly

"When we sit down and

work closely with these

people, have periodic

tests and compare results, we find that the

system can do very well."

on NBS measurement quality as- surance programs, to calibrate the instruments that are used, in turn, to calibrate the radiation therapy machines. That's a good

example of how the entire system

should work. The AAPM laboratories are tested every year, so we

know and can demonstrate that

their measurements are reliable and that the calibrations that they

provide to hospitals and clinics are consistent with NBS

standards. Question: Take a public health case—the machines that are

Elmer Eisenhower, chief, NBS

Office of Radiation Measurement

13
Procedures for Performance Evaluation

To evaluate ability to Participant should Evaluator should And the evaluation should

Calibrate dosimetry

instruments

Calibrate an instrument

Calibrate the same

instrument Compare calibration factors Measure radiation fields (radiation units) Measure an unknown

field Measure the same field Compare measurementresults Measure radioactivity

(activity units) Measure activity of a source Measure the same or anequivalent source Compare measurementresults

Calibrate sources

(radiation or activity units)

Calibrate a source

Calibrate the same

source Compare calibration

results

Administer radiation doseAdministera nominal dose to a dosimeterCalibrate and read out

the dosimeter Determine accuracy of administered dose

Read-out dosimeters Calibrate and read out a dosimeter

Administer a known

dose to the dosimeter Determine accuracy of read-out dose

used to make dental x rays. What

sort of accuracy is required when

you're measuring the perfor- mance of that kind of machine so

that you know it is not a danger

to the patients?

Eisenhower: We have accuracy

charts that we've worked out in consultation with the people who

use these measurements. In the area of medical x-ray diagnosis, the field accuracy that we shoot

for is 10 percent, which requires an accuracy of 5 percent at the secondary level. Each step in the

calibration chain costs you something in accuracy.

In the general radiation protection area—things like employee

exposure monitoring at power

plants or environmental

measurements—they're only

shooting for 15 percent accuracy

at the field level. They're measuring much lower levels of radi- ation, so achieving accuracy is more difficult. This is an area that the state radiation control laboratories deal with, and we've found

that sort of accuracy is very easy

to get under the system that we've set up with the CRCPD. It requires a calibration accuracy of 10 percent at the secondary

level, and we can provide 4 to 5 percent in our measurements.

In the case of radiation therapy

measurements, we can deliver accuracies of 1| percent at NBS,

2 percent at the secondary level, and 3 percent in the field. Those

are very tight limits, but that's one

of the advantages of a program

like this. When we sit down and

work closely with these people,

have periodic tests and compare

results, we find that the system

can do very well. Question: What sort of reaction do you get from private industry

about all these plans?

Eisenhower: Very positive. Ev- erybody that we talk to in all of these sectors is in favor of what we propose to do—their biggest

complaint is that they'd like to see it happen faster than we can manage with our resources. One of the important benefits from these programs—in addition

to ensuring the quality of radiation measurements—is that you have

documentation that demonstrates

that you are doing a good job, that your measurement perfor- mance or calibration performance

or whatever you are offering is in fact adequate for the purpose.

If someone comes along and

says he was overexposed to radi- ation and is now suing a company, that firm will have documented performance data with which it can defend itself. That's

important in the radiation industry,

and it's one of the reasons we're

getting such strong support from

the people in the measurement

community. They see this as a way of protecting themselves in the future from unfair claims. Question: How long does it take

to set up these programs?

Eisenhower: We learn a lot in each sector that we can apply to others. It took about 7 years to get the first state laboratory accredited. The next will take a year

or two less from start to finish, with accreditation scheduled for completion later this year. The private industrial area

probably won't take as long, be- cause we'll have our experience

from the state sector to build on. I would guess that we could have

that whole system set up within about 4 years. Question: Do you think the radi- ation measurement system in the United States is safe right now?

Cassatt: The system is in good

shape, but there are people who

have to wait a considerable

amount of time before they can have an instrument calibrated and

get it back in service—largely be- cause of our limited resources

here. During that time, you're not

terribly certain that things are being done as well as they could

be. Our efforts to set up a system

of secondary calibration laboratories should reduce that turn- around time. Then, too, there are a lot of people who are relying strictly on

calibrations and calibrated instru- ments rather than tests of actual, routine performance. They are using carefully trained people and

well-calibrated instruments and

following established practices, but there's nothing that can quite

replace the confidence that comes from an actual measurement performance test. We'll be providing that extra level of confidence.
Tools and Technology

for the Building Industry

emember the old WW II movies

where a submarine and surface

ship played cat and mouse? The

ship would use sound to deter- mine the location and depth of the sub. All would be quiet except

for the "ping! ping!" of the sonar. Today, variations of this pulseecho detection method are being

used routinely to search for cracks in steel structures and to scan the human body.

Now researchers at the National Bureau of Standards are

looking at the technique to deter- mine whether it can be used reliably to detect flaws in concrete

structures such as buildings or bridge columns.

It is possible to look for defects

in concrete by drilling a core sample or using x-ray or gamma radi- ography, but these methods are expensive, often destructive, and

cumbersome. According to Dr. H. S. Lew, an NBS engineer,

"There is a real need for a nondestructive system for flaw detection that is reliable, economical, and easy to operate. We

think the pulse-echo method has

the potential to fill this need."

But there are problems with using this technique for detecting

flaws in concrete. Not enough is known about how sound waves move through concrete or how to interpret the signals. And the instruments for sending the pulses

of sound and for receiving signals

have not been fully developed.

Lew is confident the problems can be overcome. "We've devel- oped a transducer to 'thump' the surface the same way every time,

and we will be testing it under

field conditions next year. Also, we are working on ways to make

it easier to interpret the signals."

In fact, Lew believes this re- search may lead to a devel- opment that sounds like it is straight out of science fiction. He

says, "Eventually we may be able

to use acoustic imaging which will make it possible for us to get a

three-dimensional view of the inHere researchers test structural components to determine the cause of the collapse of two

walkways in the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel.

15
Kyle Woodward, a research structural engineer,

studies data from a computer-directed test

: tri-directional facility is p

of the Bureau's earthquake hazards prevention

research.

side of a concrete structure." Research such as this conducted by the scientists and en- gineers in the NBS Center for Building Technology leads to safer buildings which are more

economical to build and maintain. But NBS does not promulgate or enforce building standards or codes. "What we do is develop

the tools and technology to predict, measure, and test the per- formance of structures," says Dr. Charles Culver, chief of the center's Structures Division. "We're

working to improve building codes

and standards by providing the

technical information to or- ganizations that write them."

While NBS experts often are

called upon to investigate major

building failures, such as the 1981

collapse of two walkways in a Kansas City hotel, most of the re- search in the Structures Division

16

is aimed at developing improved

building practices so that such

tragedies do not occur. For example, NBS engineers

have been developing ways to determine when poured concrete

is strong enough for the construction formwork to be removed.

This is important from both a

safety and economic standpoint.

Says Lew, "A builder wants to re- move the formwork as soon as

possible so he can get on with the building. But he doesn't want

to risk the safety of the construction workers." NBS has come up with two

tools that will help builders make

this decision. One is a standardized test for pulling small concrete samples out of the structure, which Lew feels is the most

reliable method of determining

the strength of concrete. The

other is a method of analysis that soon will be available as a computer program. ASTM is considering adopting both as voluntary standards. Each year more than 200 construction workers die and many

more are injured as a result of ex- cavation cave-ins. With the support of the U.S. Occupational

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and

Health, NBS developed ways to classify soil and investigated the lumber used in bracing trenches. The outcome was a series of practices recommended by NBS

to make trenching excavation

work safer. OSHA is revising its construction safety regulations based on

the NBS research, and the Ameri- can National Standards Institute (ANSI) is considering using the recommendations to form the basis for a voluntary industry standard. Understanding the properties

and behavior of soil is also im- portant to understanding "soil liq- uefaction." This phenomenon oc- curs during an earthquake when

the soil loses its firmness and be- gins to flow like a liquid, sometimes causing buildings to topple.

Soil liquefaction has occurred

in seismically active areas around

the world and is part of the Bureau's earthquake hazards reduction program. This research is aimed at helping builders and en- gineers determine how stable soil

will be during an earthquake.

"This is becoming increasingly

OSHA is revising its construction safety regulations based on the NBS

research. . . .

important," says Dr. Riley Chung,

NBS geotechnical expert, "as

suitable land for building be- comes scarcer and people are considering land they once might

have rejected."

One of the ways engineers de- termine whether a soil could liq- uefy is through the use of a Stan- dard Penetration Test (SPT). The

test is used in about 90 percent

of all structural foundation in- vestigations conducted in the United States.

In studies funded by NBS, the

National Science Foundation, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Naval

Facilities Engineering Command,

the U.S. Army Engineer Water- ways Experiment Station, and Ja- panese industry and government,

Chung and his colleagues evalu- ated U.S. and Japanese SPT

practices and compared test re- sults from both countries. They

found that much of the information on soil liquefaction design

charts, based on SPT data gathered over the years, needs to be

re-evaluated. Chung is now working with the University of Califor- nia at Berkeley to develop revised design charts and a set of recom- mended procedures for the test.
He also is working with an ASTM

committee to develop a standardized test method.

In addition to the soil liquefaction research and participation in several industry-government inter- agency projects to develop seis- mic design standards, a part of the Bureau's program to reduce

earthquake hazards is understanding the effects of earth- quakes on masonry structures. "When you design a masonry

wall to resist earthquake forces you first need to know how much

force it will take to crack that wall and if it will fail immediately or continue to deform," says NBS

engineer Dr. E. V. Leyendecker.

The researchers are using a

unique computerized facility de- signed and built at NBS to measure the seismic resistance of both reinforced and unreinforced masonry. Using large hydraulic

jacks, the tri-directional facility can simulate the twisting stresses an earthquake causes in a building. The facility can handle test specimens as large as 10 feet long by 10 feet deep by 10£

feet high.

"Right now there is no complete technical base for designing

masonry structures to resist the combination of stresses caused

by earthquakes," says

Leyendecker. He adds, "Groups

such as the American Concrete

Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers are very in- terested in the recommendations we are developing."

In another building at NBS, a

similar although much more massive facility was completed re- cently. This large-scale seismic

test facility will enable researchers to test full-scale bridge and

building components under conditions simulating earthquake

forces. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the

Federal Highway Administration,

and the California Department of Transportation, testing of full- scale bridge columns will begin in the spring of 1985. How do you determine how

much "load" a building can with- stand and still be safe? Loads are

forces or actions on a structure from the weight of the building it- self, occupants and their possessions, and environmental

forces such as wind, snow, and

earthquakes. Answering this question will be easier as a result of research conducted by an NBS

group under the direction of structural engineer Dr. Bruce

Ellingwood.

Until recently, building codes

specified the minimum require- ments for loads and structural design according to the materials used. For example, if you were

building with wood the load and

stress factors required would be

different than if you were using

steel or reinforced concrete. This

diversity complicated the building

design process, particularly if your

building plans called for a mix of construction materials. Ellingwood and his colleagues

have developed a system which can be used to calculate the design strength required for a struc- ture regardless of the materials used. Ellingwood says, "In terms

of structural design this means

that safety and performance can

be determined according to what

is an acceptable level of risk or a

required level of reliability." This new approach for calculating loads has been incorporated into the latest ANSI standard on

loading.

The construction industry is one of this country's largest.

About $260 billion was invested

in construction- related activities

last year. To guard that in- vestment against damage and to protect the workers who build the

structures and those who occupy

them, the building industry needs

NBS researchers Dr. Nicholas Carino and co-op

student Mary Sansalone from Cornell University are studying a technique known as pulse-echo

detection to determine whether it can be used

reliably to detect flaws in concrete structures

such as buildings or bridge columns.

sound technical information on

which to base decisions. "Both dollars and lives are at stake here," says Culver, "and

the most important way we can

help is by providing the tools and

technology the industry and pro- fessional groups need to make

those decisions."

by Jan Kosko

NBS Public Affairs Specialist

17
liir Fiiilitf Isii ti

computerized facility designed to test how full-scale bridge and

building components perform during earthquakes has just been

completed at NBS. In the first project to be run in the facility, NBS researchers, under the sponsorship of the National Sci- ence Foundation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the

California Department of Transportation, will test three

30-foot-high bridge columns un- der conditions simulating earth- quake forces. A massive, reinforced concrete

wall, which stands 45 feet high

and weighs 2 million pounds, was

constructed as part of the Bureau's new large-scale seismic

test facility. The huge "reaction"

wall was built to resist the force being applied to the side of the

bridge columns.

One of the reasons for the test- ing is to evaluate bridge design

changes developed by the state

of California after the 1971 San

Fernando earthquake. During that earthquake, five bridges col- lapsed and 42 others were damaged significantly. Since 1971, the requirements for column design

have been changed and now pro- vide more stringent reinforcing

steel requirements. But the design changes have never been

tested at full scale.

"In fact," says Dr. Charles

Culver, chief of the NBS Struc- tures Division, "most of the re- search done on the behavior of bridge columns has been done

on much smaller specimens and

the results have been extrapolated to predict full-scale behavior." Nearly all design codes pertaining to bridge columns during

earthquakes, except for those in New Zealand and Japan, are

NBS researchers are constructing a computerized facility to

test how full-scale bridge and building components perform

during earthquakes. The reinforced concrete wall (in

background) is being built to resist the force which will be

applied to the side of bridge columns. The wall stands 45 feet

high and weighs 2 million pounds.
Vertical post-tensloned

reaction wall

Central computer

Data acquisition • Load control • Data reduction • Servo hydraulics interface

NBS Large-Scale Seismic Test Facility.

based on the research done on

building columns.

"This project will give us benchmark data, something we

didn't have before, a point of ref- erence to compare other data. It should help us develop improved

criteria for designing bridges and

buildings to better resist earth- quake damage," says Culver.

In a smaller-scale facility at NBS, researchers also will run

tests on columns one-third and

one-sixth the size of the full 30-foot columns. After testing the

large columns they will compare

the results of both sets of tests to see whether the behavior of the

small-scale bridge columns can

be used to predict that of full- scale columns. This information

will be used by the NBS scientists

to evaluate and refine computer

models which predict how struc- tures fail during earthquakes.

Such models will help the building

community design safer buildings

and bridges without conducting

expensive failure tests. Also as part of the project, one

of the three large columns will be

repaired and then retested to see how well the repair work with- stands further seismic stresses. The NBS large-scale seismic

test facility is the largest facility of

its kind in the United States. The

Bureau's existing universal testing

machine, which is capable of exerting up to 12 million pounds of

force, will be used to press down

on the bridge columns to simulate

the superstructure of the bridge.

A specially designed hydraulic

jack, called a bi-directional actuator, will be used to simulate the

lateral forces of an earthquake by

pushing and pulling the base of the 250-ton bridge columns.

All of the movement will be

controlled by a computer which

aiso will feed back information to the researchers. Says NBS structural engineer William Stone, designer of the facility, "Each col- umn will be fully instrumented

both inside and out so we know

what kind of stress and strain it is taking."

Because of their size and

weight, the columns will be cast

in the facility and rolled into the

testing machine on four steel rail- road tracks. The facility is now undergoing

shakedown tests and full-scale column testing is scheduled to begin this spring. This unique facility will be available in the coming years for cooperative re- search with industry, government,

and universities. J. K.

19
Welcome to the New Computer Age

The Era of Networks

urely you have heard by now. Computer technology is taking yet

another "new" direction, but this direction is actually as old as civi- lization itself. The computer in- dustries are acquiring the measurement base and adopting the standards necessary to "match

parts" with ease—to make one

system or piece of equipment

work with another system or piece of equipment regardless of who manufactures the individual pieces.

Where does the expertise in measurement and standards come from to support such a

broad, diffuse effort? In large part from the measurement and

standards-making community,

which is international in scope

and of which the National Bureau

of Standards is a member. But more about that later. Who Cares?

First, to the heart of the matter: Why standards? Who needs

them? Who cares? Edward Deenihan, supervisor of development engineering of General Motors (GM), sums it up succinctly: "We cannot buy from dif- ferent computer vendors and

expect their products to be compatible. This slows down computer integration in manufacturing,

and it limits our options. We find if we have a particular vendor in one of our facilities, we tend to reuse that vendor instead of looking for the best technical solution

John Heafner, chief, NBS Systems and Network Architecture

Division.

to a problem. If we don't do that,

if we go after the best solution, we can end up rewriting

software—a big, expensive

headache.

"We want communications

standards that are implemented

in off-the-shelf products," he emphasizes. "We want to get GM

people out of the communications

software business. We want to make our decisions based on the best solution, not on whether this machine can talk to the one next

to it." General Motors is committed to getting what it wants, and that means the company is dedicating

money and staff to develop a Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP)—a set of standards,

based on an international model

(see box), which will become

GM's and others' basis for buying

computer equipment. The company's prominent presence in the standards community has accel- erated a networking standards effort that was already under way, an effort to which many computer

vendors, such as Digital Equipment Corporation, have subscribed since its beginning in the

late 1970's.

Digital's Tony Lauck, head of networks and communication ar- chitecture and advanced devel- opment, says, "In December of 1982 we [computer companies] were still sitting in standards committees wondering whether multi- vendor networks were ever really going to happen—or whether we

were just going to continue going

to standards meetings. Six of us

got together and asked NBS to work with us and others to make

something happen."

NBS Role

Although it is not a regulatory agency, the NBS Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology (ICST) is the hub of the

20
networking standards effort in the

United States. ICST is, in fact, one of a handful of laboratories worldwide—and the only one in this country—equipped in terms

of staff, technical resources, and

basic mission to do the research

required for international net- working standards. The institute's

staff have helped develop the In- ternational Organization for Standardization's (ISO) model for net- working, called Open Systems

Interconnection (OSI), and they

are carrying out work related to that model.

"It's a matter of research first," says Stephen Nightingale, NBS'

resident expert on one area of computer network testing.

Nightingale is one of several dozen NBS staff members di- rectly involved in the laboratory

work associated with network

standards. He says, "ICST staff members belong to computerrelated committees of voluntary standards organizations—like ANSI [American National Stan- dards Institute]. ANSI represents

the United States in ISO, and

through ANSI, we also participate

in ISO. "We help write voluntary stan- dards because NBS can then adopt them as FIPS.* But before anybody can write standards,

somebody has to do the technical spade work—developing the data,

testing the theories, making sure something can work. ANSI

doesn't have a lab. ISO doesn't have a lab. None of them do. But NBS does, and the work we do is not proprietary. If private companies want to send their people to work with us, so much the better.

It helps ICST do its most important job—get the standards

out of the lab, out of the

* FIPS, short for Federal Information Pro- cessing Standards, are standards and

guidelines developed by ICST to aid federal agencies in procuring, using, and testing computer systems and equipment.

NBS Contributions to

Networking Standards

Through participation in do- mestic and international voluntary

standards organizations, or through the programs of its Center for Computer Systems Engineering, the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology

has:Helped develop the seven-layer

ISO conceptual framework for computer networks—known for- mally as the Basic Reference

Model of Open Systems Inter- connection, and then helped write ISO standards (known as protocols) that, when completed, will define how each function of each

layer is to be carried out. Translated several ISO protocols, which are written in prose,

into a formal notation developed

by ICST for the express purpose

of specifying protocols. o Derived, from the protocol

specifications, machine-readable

computer programs (known as

implementations) for use by computer vendors in developing pro- totype implementations.

Developed test methods for determining whether a computer

vendor's implementation of a specific protocol is "correct." (That

is, will the program work and is it in accord with the international standard?)

Developed test methods for monitoring the performance of prototype implementations so

they can be modified for max- imum economy of operation. (Get

the job done at the least expense.)

Worked with IEEE and CCITT

(the United Nations Consultative Committee on Telephone and

Telegraph) on communications

technology standards (for local area and wide area networks, re- spectively) related to the physical,

data-link, and network layers of the ISO model. Conducted workshops for private companies and government

agencies to transfer NBS net- working standards and testing expertise to the ultimate users. Worked directly with 14 computer vendors to help them develop, test, and refine prototype

implementations of the ISO Class 4 Transport Protocol in preparation for the world's first two

demonstrations of computer net- working through ISO standards. Cosponsored, with Boeing

Computer Services, one of the two demonstrations alluded to above at the 1984 National Computer Conference in July. (Boeing/NBS coordinated an of- fice communications networking

demonstration; GM sponsored a

factory automation network

display.)

Expanded interactions with pri- vate companies and federal agencies since the 1984 National Computer Conference by initiating a new series of workshops and

planning a global "standard" net- work on which companies, with NBS assistance, can test their equipment.

Also, ICST is adopting stan- dards compatible with the ISO

model as Federal Information Processing Standards. A local area network standard has been

approved by the Secretary of Commerce. It incorporates IEEE

standards 802.2 and 802.3 and

will be published as FIPS PUB

1 07 for Local Area Networks:

Baseband Carrier Sense

Multiple Access with Collision Detection and Physical Layer Specifications and Link Layer Protocol. (Order from the National Technical Information Service.) The

NBS-developed transport protocol

has been proposed to the Secretary. Other standards will be pro- posed when they are developed

in voluntary standards groups.
standards-writing organizations,

and into use." The computer institute has

been part of the international ef- fort to bring about networking

standards since that effort began

in 1979. The main function of the Bureau in general, as well as the computer institute in particular, is to develop the measurement sci- ence and standards base for American science and industry.

This has been the case in the area of computer networking

standards. The computer institute has developed the technology,

the standards, and the test methods that industry needs and

wants.

Open Systems

Interconnection

Reference Model

"But before anybody can

write standards, somebody has to do the technical spade workdeveloping the data,

testing the theories, making sure something can

work."

"Standards aren't useful unless

they are implemented," says

Robert Blanc, director of the NBS

Center for Computer Systems Engineering. "So today, most of our

resources go into helping industry

develop and test their implementations for international standards." The help Blanc's center pro- vides is critical to the success of networking standardization, as GM's Deenihan points out. "We

would not be where we are now

with our MAP program if it weren't

for NBS," he says. "The strategy

of the project is not to develop

GM-specific communications

standards but to support national and international standards." The close interaction between

NBS and computer vendors and

users began at the request of in- dustry in 1983. Prior to that time,

The Open Systems Interconnection

(OSI) Reference Model is a stan- dard of the International Or- ganization for Standardization. It

is a blueprint for achieving off- the-shelf compatibility of computer systems and equipment.

The model consists of seven

abstract "layers" to which stan- dard protocols—procedures—are assigned. A protocol stipulates

how to carry out a set of network

functions (commonly called layer

services). The functions required

of a layer may vary depending on many factors, such as the underlying technology (whether coaxial

cable, satellite, or so on). Thus

each layer contains alternative protocols. (The transport layer, for example, subsumes five classes of protocols, numbered 0 through 4). An OSI protocol starts out as a document written in prose. Unless

the protocol is an engineering

specification concerned with the hardware of the physical network,

it will be translated into formal notation (a programming language

developed for the purpose of specifying protocols). It can then be transformed by a combination

of manual and automated pro- cedures into a machine-readable

7. Application Layer

6. Presentation Layer

5. Session Layer

4. Transport Layer

3. Network Layer

2. Data-Link Layer

1. Physical Layer
NBS had been working informally

with, as John Heafner, head of the Systems and Network Architecture Division, puts it, "many or- ganizations interested in computer networking standards, from IBM to the city government of Baltimore." In 1982, however,

several companies asked NBS to hold workshops on the Institute of

Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802 series of standards for local area network

technologies (these standards re- late to the physical and data-link

layers of the ISO model) and on

working standards for the transport layer. NBS agreed.

Workshops

The workshop series convened in February 1983, and the participants decided to conduct two

public demonstrations of local area networks based on inter- national standards. Over the next year and a half, in preparation for the demonstrations: NBS devel- oped a prototype working stan- dard for the transport layer of the ISO model and related test methods (this standard is a software program which "implements" the OSI transport-layer Class 4 protocol); participating computer ven- dors derived their own working

implementations from the NBS

standard; IEEE 802 standards were selected for the physical

and data-link layers, thus elimi- nating the need for a network

layer; also, no session- or presentation-layer functions were

used; and a draft ISO file-transfer protocol served for the

application layer. Once development was fin- ished, testing began. NBS set up two testbeds, one for testing

transport protocol implementations (the Bureau tested all such implementations) and one

for testing the entire office communications network. Using the NBS network testbed as a model,

program—a software "protocol

implementation" in correct

terminology.

7. Application Layer

Functions: Gives the computer

operator or application program

access to the network and pro- vides a context in which an indi- vidual can use the network for specific purposes, such as querying a database in another system,

transferring a file to or from another system, making an airline reservation, transferring money

from one account to another, and

so on.

6. Presentation Layer

Functions: Transforms data

codes and structure received from the application layer into a "common denominator" language

for sending and transforms in- coming data from the commondenominator language into the codes and structure of the

receiving system.

5. Session Layer

Functions: Enables management

and synchronization of streams of data that are being exchanged

between communicating

application programs. For example, data streams are marked and

resynchronized to ensure that

sessions of dialogue are completed and not terminated pre- maturely. This layer also permits

two-way alternating (half duplex)

or two-way simultaneous (full duplex) communication, depending on the requirements of the

application.

4. Transport Layer

Functions: Provides end-to-end

data reliability. Specifically, this layer makes sure data are not

lost, duplicated, or corrupted in transit and that they get to their destination in the right order. The

transport layer must, therefore,

append transportation information (such as the address of the sending machine and the address of the receiving machine) to out- going data and strip it off incoming data, perform mathematical

operations that reveal data errors, signal a sending machine to re- send garbled data, and, in the ab- sence of a network protocol, control the rate at which data are received and disassemble/

reassemble session messages.

(Session messages might be too

long to transmit on the network in one transport data unit; the out- going message would be seg- mented by the sending transport

layer and reassembled by the re- ceiving transport layer.)

3. Network Layer

Functions: Routes information—

along possibly multiple paths—to get it to its physical destination. The internetwork sublayer routes data to addresses on different networks. If all the communicating units on a network are di- rectly connected to a physical link (such as a coaxial cable), and the network does not communicate

with another network, the inter- network protocol is unnecessary.

2. Data-Link Layer

Functions: Flags data packets so

that the receiving data-link layer can distinguish beginnings and

ends of messages, signals the

physical layer to begin trans- mission, or, in the case of baseband and broadband coaxial cable technology, handles access to the cable channels.

1. Physical Layer

Functions: Constitutes the physical medium of transmission, with

all associated hardware, and carries out the logical function of en- coding data in the transmission

signals, such as electrical pulses

or waves.
The network protocol laboratory shown here is one of several NBS facilities used for OSI-related

standards work. Standing, from left, are NBS researchers Jerry Linn, Ken Diamond, Wayne

McCoy, and Fran Nielson and sitting, from left, Dan Rorrer and Stephen Nightingale.

GM installed its own networktesting system and tested the factory automation network. Fourteen computer manufacturers and communications

companies, divided into two

groups—one group led by GM

and one by NBS and Boeing

Computer Services—were ready

to demonstrate Open Systems In- terconnection to the public in July 1984. They chose the 1984 National Computer Conference in Las Vegas as the appropriate

forum.

Networking

Demonstrations:

The Future is Now

Coming and going, all visitors to the computer conference passed

both networking demonstrations.

On one side of the lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center,

toy car chassis rolled along a

miniature GM assembly line, each one passing a robot arm and getting fitted with a brightly colored

body. At the end of the line, the cars were automatically sorted by

color, with blue cars shunted to one slot, red ones to another,

and so on.

On the other side of the lobby,

Boeing and NBS were providing an information service, operating

from some 10 pieces of computer

equipment with 13 video screens, any or all of which might be working at a given moment, giving in- formation on Las Vegas hotels, exchanging files, showing color

graphics, or monitoring (in the form of a real-time visual display) the otherwise invisible inter- connections taking place among

the various computer systems.
Participating Organizations

Following is a list—current as Communications Satellite National Telecommunications

of press time, December 21, Corporation (Comsat) and Information 1984—of companies and CompuCorp Administration, Department

agencies involved in NBS- Compuvision Corporation of Commerce

sponsored Open Systems In- Concord Data Systems* NBI, Inc. terconnection workshops and Data General Corporation NCR Corporation*

related activities. Asterisks de- Defense Communications Network Solutions, Inc. note the companies that par- Agency, Department of Northern Telecom Ltd. ticipated in the first OSI Defense Ing. C. Olivetti Company, S.P.A. demonstration, held at the July Digital Equipment Corporation* Prime Computer, Inc. 1984 National Computer E.I. Du Pont de Nemours Reliance Electric Company

Conference. E-Systems Rolm

Florida State Legislature Siemens A.G. (two divisions)

Able Computer Foxboro Company Sperry Corporation

ACC (Advanced Computer General Electric Corporation Square D Company

Communications)* General Motors Corporation* System Development

Allen-Bradley Company* Gould, Inc.* Corporation

American Robot Corporation Gould S.E.L. Computer Tandem Computers

ASEA Robotics Corporation Systems, Inc. Tektronic, Inc. AT&T Communications, Inc. Hewlett-Packard Company* Texas Instruments, Inc. AT&T Information Systems, Inc. Honeywell, Inc.* Verdix Corporation

Bell Communications Interlan, Inc. Wang Laboratories, Inc. Research, Inc. International Business Westinghouse Electric

Bell Northern Research Machines* Corporation

Bell Telephone Laboratories International Computers The World Bank

Boeing Company* Limited* Ungermann-Bass (Industrial

Bolt, Beranek & Newmann, Inc. Intel Corporation* Networking, Inc.) Burroughs Corporation ITT Dialcom Xerox Corporation

Charles River Data Systems* Korea Institute of Electronics Ztel Cincinnati Milacron Corporation Technology

Codex Corporation Library of Congress

Motorola, Inc.

For the first time in history, 14 computer vendors cooperated in implementing international net- working standards so their sys- tems could easily communicate

with each other. These demonstrations probably

spoke more for the future of computer technology than did any of the other exhibitions at the computer conference. They signalled

to the computer community that a new opportunity is at hand today,

not 5 or 1 0 years from today—the

opportunity to greatly expand the use of networks and to open new

markets for network equipment.

The Next Step

The workshops were a success;

the demonstrations were a success. So where are the products,

and what's next? Those are questions asked by observers at the

National Computer Conference.

Several companies have products on the market, and they will soon be joined by many others. But the basic work is not yet fin- ished. NBS is conducting a new

series of workshops for further standards development, and, if in- dustry agrees to support it, the Bureau will sponsor a global net- work on which companies can

test their prototype

implementations.

As NBS' Heafner points out, however, "NBS will not provide

protocol-testing as a service. We

are doing this as a cooperative

research effort in test method de- velopment. We will continue to be

the central source for testing

methods, but how those methods

are applied is up to the vendors

and their customers."

In the meantime, all companies

and agencies interested in computer networking are invited to use NBS to their own

advantage—as some 50 companies are already doing. J.C.
NBS Perspective on

Open Systems Interconnection

obert Blanc, head of the NBS

Center for Computer Systems Engineering, recently discussed is- sues related to computer compatibility and the NBS role in international computer standards

development. The following questions and answers are taken from

that discussion. Question: The objective of Open

Systems Interconnection [OSI] is to make it easier for computers to communicate. From what we hear

and read in the media, unscrupulous individuals already find it easy to gain access to other people's computers. Will OSI in- crease the threat to computer

security? Blanc: Coupled with the program

to make it easier to access computers, we have a program to

limit access to people authorized

to use the system. We've worked

closely with the Department of Defense, the Treasury Department, and the banking community to develop effective safe- guards that will protect computer

systems. Of course, the safe- guards have to be used and used

correctly.

Question: The NBS Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology is obviously deeply in- volved in the work of the Inter- national Organization for Standardization [ISO] and other

voluntary standards-making

groups, both domestic and inter- national. What is the basis for this involvement?

Blanc: Our charter is to develop

standards* to increase the effec- tiveness of the government's use

* The standards referred to here are Federal Information Processing Standards,

called FIPS for short. They are not regulatory standards, but standards and guidelines developed by NBS' Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology to aid federal agencies in procuring, using, and

testing computer systems and equipment. NBS is not a regulatory agency.

of computers. We think the best way to do that is to develop stan- dards in such a way that they are implemented in commercial prod- ucts rather than in products de- veloped especially for govern- ment. When industry invests resources to develop sophisticated products, they expect to be able to sell them to a world- wide market, not just to the U.S. government.

By developing our standards

through the commercial world- wide standards process, we ag- gregate the market for products

that implement our standards. It's to the advantage of industry then

to develop those products that re- spond not only to the require- ments of government agencies

but to worldwide requirements as

well. Question: Open Systems Inter- connection is the answer of the

international standards community to computer incompatibility. Are the individual companies really paying attention to it, or are they going to give it lip service and hope that it goes away?

Blanc: OSI standards are being

implemented by quite a large

number of companies. We are working with over 50 companies

"Coupled with the program to make it easier to

access computers, we

have a program to limit

access to people authorized to use the system."

in a new series of workshops.

They decide, as a group, which

standards to concentrate on

and which features to implement.

This way, all their systems will be

compatible, which is the main objective of OSI. A precondition of fairly rapid im- plementation of the standards is the availability of test methods

"By developing our standards through the commercial worldwide standards process, we

aggregate the market for

products that implement

our standards."

which can be used by companies

to assist them in developing

good, correct [by OSI standards],

compatible implementations. At NBS we have the responsibility of developing those test methods,

and we use the government/

industry workshops to help us set our priorities on what tests to develop first. Question: What about equipment

tied into computer networks in factories and offices right now?

Won't that equipment be incompatible with new equipment implementing OSI protocols? Blanc: Certainly we're going to have that kind of compatibility

problem. We recommend, if an

organization plans to develop a network with equipment from dif- ferent manufacturers, they be- come aware of OSI—and more

importantly with protocol specifi- cations that have been developed

to support OSI. It might be a mis- take now to be designing your own network protocols. The OSI

protocols are sophisticated

enough in most cases to support

computer-to-computer require- ments in office, factory, and

laboratory environments. User groups can help companies keep up with OSI devel- opments. Industrial computer us- ers can get involved with a

factory-floor communications us- ers group. Over 100 corporations

belong, and General Motors is playing a lead role. Boeing Corporation started a network users
association that is concerned with OSI for many networking applications, particularly in office envi- ronments. I think it now has about

85 companies as members.

Question: Do you have any

points you think deserve particular emphasis?

Blanc: First, I want to stress that our interactions with industry and

the standards-making community

are aimed ultimately at satisfying the needs of federal agencies.

We have an interagency research

agreement with DoD [Department

of Defense] to help make sure

that their requirements are met by

standards developed nationally

and internationally by ISO and

other voluntary standards or- ganizations. We have an agree- ment with FAA [Federal Aviation

"The OSI protocols are

sophisticated enough in most cases to support

computer-to-computer

requirements in office,

factory, and laboratory

environments."

wmmmmmaoBSBtm

Administration] to assist them in the use of OSI protocols.

We think it's important to get

information to the government

agencies as well as industry to

tell them what OSI is all about

and how to make use of stan- dards that have been developed. We're working jointly with the Computer and Business Equip- ment Manufacturers Association

to organize a major seminar on

OSI, to be held here at NBS in October.

I also want to emphasize that we have an NBS Research Associate Program where people from

industry and other agencies come

and work in our laboratories on

programs of mutual interest. We

have research associates here

now working on protocol devel- opment and test methods, and we would welcome more. It's the quickest way we know to transfer our technology.

Question: You have said several times that the aim of NBS' OSIrelated programs is "portable

technology"—prototype protocols

and test methods that companies

will use themselves to develop

and test their OSI standards. You

do not intend to offer long-term

testing or direct assistance. As

the OSI work gradually phases

out, what will replace it as a

research priority?

Blanc: We have already initiated research efforts in highperformance computing. We think

this is an area of growing im- portance, and we think we can

play a leading role in measurement and test method devel- opment. There is a need for methodologies to measure the performance of novel computer

architecture to support design

decisions. We think we can work

cooperatively with industry to meet this need, just as we have

in networking.
NBS Adds Credibility to

Energy-Related Inventions

small program conducted jointly by the National Bureau of Stan- dards and the Department of Energy (DoE) is helping inventors

get their ideas from the workshop

to the marketplace. NBS provides, at no cost to the inventor,

evaluations of energy-related in- ventions and recommends those

it considers promising to DoE. In turn, DoE provides financial and/

or marketing support.

The Energy-Related Inventions Program also gives inventors what many of them need most

credibility. "Without credibility it's likely the individual inventor will find it very difficult to find financial support for an idea," says George

Lewett, chief of the NBS Office of Energy-Related Inventions. "Financial institutions like to know who they are dealing with. If they don't, chances are the in- ventor's request for funding will

be rejected," says Lewett. "But

with a favorable NBS review, an

inventor often can take an idea to the bank and turn it into funds or other support."

California inventor Norman

Fawley agrees. "While I would

like to think that the world would

recognize an inventor, this simply

is not a fact. The NBS recom- mendation was critical to me be- cause it added that necessary in- gredient of 'scientific credibility.' "

After several years of knocking on doors and being told, "That's a great idea, come back and see

us again," Fawley submitted his idea to NBS in June 1981, for re- view. The following June, after a

detailed evaluation, NBS gave

Fawley's idea a favorable recommendation.

28

Fawley's invention is a light- weight aluminum cylinder rein- forced with resin-impregnated

glass filaments. This doubles the

cylinder's ability to withstand

pressure. The cylinder makes it practical to use natural gas as a

vehicle fuel. The primary drawbacks to using natural gas have

been the low capacity and heavy

weight of high-pressure steel tanks. But, because of the light weight and greater pressure capacity of Fawley's aluminum cylin- ders, a greater amount of natural gas can be stored at less than

half the weight of steel tanks. Says Fawley, "With abundant

North American natural gas supplies, a distribution system that's already in place, and a cost about

half that of gasoline, many energy

experts believe that compressed

natural gas will emerge as a major vehicle fuel in the near

future." The cylinders being produced

by Fawley's company, now a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company

of America (ALCOA), have been

installed in fleet vehicles of 20

companies in the United States and Canada. Fawley estimates an

annual demand of 500,000 cylin- ders by 1990. Another Fawley invention,

which was also evaluated favor- ably by NBS, is based on the same technology of reinforcing metal with a composite. This in- vention could help make gas

pipelines safer. A puncture in a

conventional gas pipeline can cause a several-thousand-foot crack to develop in a matter of seconds, creating a potentially

explosive situation. But testing

has shown that a crack will not propagate in a pipeline made using Fawley's idea of reinforced composite metal. The invention is expected to be on the market in the near future. Other NBS/DoE-assisted in- ventions which have been sue-
cessful include a direct-fired gas

heating system invented by Harry

Wood of New Orleans. The highly

efficient industrial system heats

water by bringing a natural gas

flame into direct contact with the water and recovering the latent heat of the water vapor produced

during combustion. Wood li- censed his invention to another

corporation which has sold over 65 units and has orders for more. He has adapted the technology

as a stack waste heat reclaimer

for industry that uses hot flue gas

in lieu of a gas burner to heat water. This year, Wood plans to manufacture $3 million worth of the units. The "Heat Extractor," which

can be used by both industry and

the homeowner, was invented by

Daniel Ben-Shmuel. The St. Johnsville, N.Y., inventor used his DoE

grant to install, operate, and test the Heat Extractor in an operating paper mill. The device removes

and recycles heat from the fur- nace flue gas. So far, Ben-Shmuel

has achieved the greatest commercial success of inventors supported by the program with sales

currently running about $25

million a year. Inventors getting a favorable NBS review are a relatively select group—those with very promising, new ideas. Of the 21,000 inventions submitted to NBS since the program started in 1975, NBS

has recommended 275 for DoE

assistance. An invention that passes initial NBS review undergoes a rigorous

evaluation by one of six evaluators on the NBS Office of Energy-Related Inventions staff.

In the evaluation process, NBS

draws upon a national network of hundreds of expert consultants from government, industry, and

universities. Typically NBS evaluators obtain written opinions from

at least two consultants on each

invention evaluated.

"The NBS recommendation was critical to me

because it added that

necessary ingredient of

'scientific credibility.'

The NBS evaluators ask

three key questions: Is the in- vention technically feasible? Will

it save a significant amount of en- ergy or increase supplies from

nonnuclear sources? Does it have

a reasonable chance of becoming

a commercial success? Even rejected inventions get a bonus: a free evaluation by NBS.

If an invention does not warrant

further review, the key reasons

for rejection are identified and

sent to the inventor, who is wel- come to try again. "We're always

willing to reconsider our position if the inventor can provide further

details or new information," says

Lewett.

If the invention is considered

promising, NBS forwards it to DoE for financial support and/or

help with marketing the invention. Before 1982, the primary form of DoE support was a one-time

grant to the inventor for research

and development. Grants typically

have ranged between $50,000

and $200,000, with an average of $70,000.

During 1982 and 1983 grant

funds were not available. In that period, DoE began helping inventors to obtain private-sector fi- nancial support and develop marketing plans. Though DoE is once

again able to provide grants, this help will continue. So far, DoE has awarded

grants totaling nearly $14 million for 175 of the 275 inventions rec- ommended by NBS. Forty-six in- ventors have been able to acquire a total of $45,855,000 in follow-on financing, mostly from

private, non-federal sources. Some $3 million is available for grants in fiscal year 1985.

Statistics on total energy savings from the program are just now starting to accumulate. According to DoE, four of the inventions which have made it to the marketplace saved about 2 trillion Btu's in 1983—the equivalent of about $10 million in oil. In 5 years

the savings attributable to 35 of the inventions now on the market

are expected to be $100 million per year. Federal funding for the Energy-Related Inventions Pro- gram at NBS and DoE has aver- aged about $5 million a year.

1 he assistance the program

gives to inventors does not stop

at evaluations and financial and

marketing support. For the past 4 years the program has been

bringing together inventors through a series of nationwide

National Innovation Workshops.

The 2-day workshops give practical guidance and information to inventors and prospective inventors through lectures and panel

discussions. Advice is given on

turning ideas into inventions, pat- enting, licensing and selling, start- ing new businesses, and getting

help from both public and private sources. Over 4,500 inventors and would-be inventors have at- tended these 25 workshops.

NBS' Lewett feels very strongly

that America's future lies in inno- vation and in the creativity of the

individual inventor. "Our future technological and economic

growth will depend in no small

part on inventions and inno- vations by individuals and small companies. We should make a

special effort to make sure these

inventions are recognized and to help establish credibility ior the

individual inventor."

If you think this program can

help commercialize your energysaving idea, write to: Office of Energy-Related Inventions, ER

Division, Room 209 Engineering

Mechanics Building, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg,

MD 20899. J.K.
NEW PUBLICATIONS

TABLES OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF FLUIDS

Roder, H. M., Experimental Thermal

Conductivity Values for Hydrogen,

Methane, Ethane, and Propane, Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), NBSIR 84-3006, 58

pages (May 1984). Order by stock no. PB

84-235332 from NTIS, $10 prepaid.

New experimental measurements of the thermal conductivity of fluids, which are absolute and which were made using a

very accurate apparatus called the tran- sient hot-wire device, are given in this publication. It contains data in the temperature range from about 77 K to 325 K, and over the pressure range of near zero

to 70 MPa. The thermal conductivity sur- faces are delineated by measurements

along isotherms (about 20 K intervals)

at 400 to 1 ,600 separate points for each fluid.

SPECIMEN GEOMETRY EFFECTS IN FRACTURE TOUGHNESS TESTING

Anderson, T. L, Effect of Crack-Tip Region Constraint on Fracture in the

Ductile-To-Brittle Transition, Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), NBSIR 84-3001, 199 pages

(May 1984). Order from NTIS by stock

no. PB 84-237395, $19 prepaid.

Since full-scale fracture toughness tests

of structures are expensive and sometimes wholly impractical, it is necessary

to conduct tests using reduced-scale

specimens. However, specimen geometry has a significant effect on the measured toughness, so test results often do

not scale up directly to allow accurate performance predictions. This NBS publi- cation examines this problem and

presents a theoretical model to account

for the discrepancy. An approach to a

solution of the problem, based on critical crack-tip opening displacement and

J-integral measurements as a function of temperature in ABS grace EH36 steel, also is presented.

TRAINING MATERIAL ON COSTEFFECTIVE BUILDING DECISIONS

Ruegg, R. T. and Marshall, H. E., Economic Evaluation of Building Design,

Construction, Operation and Mainte- nance, Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), in- structor's manual—NBS Tech. Note

1194, 317 pages (June 1984). Order

from GPO by stock no. 003-003-02596-8,

$8 prepaid; workbook—NBS Tech. Note

1 195, 183 pages (June 1984). Order

from GPO by stock no. 003-003-02597-6,

$4.50 prepaid.

NBS researchers have put together a

printed version of a short course on eco- nomic evaluation procedures. It was de- signed to help those in the building community who are faced with tight construction and operating budgets make

cost-effective building decisions. The material covers the fundamentals of eco- nomic evaluation methods, modeling

building economics problems, and data

compilation. NBS has published the materials for the course as an instructor's manual and a seminar workbook.

DIRECTORY OF U.S. STANDARDS

ACT IVITIES

Toth, R. B., editor, Standards Activities of Organizations in the United States,

Natl. Bur. Stand, (U.S.), NBS Spec. Pub.

681, 592 pages (August 1984). Order by

stock no. 003-003-02602-6 from GPO,

$13 prepaid.

Manufacturers, exporters and importers,

and others concerned with the standards

developed by trade associations, technical and professional societies, federal agencies, and state governments will be

interested in a new directory of mandatory and voluntary standards activities in the United States. This directory was pre- pared by the NBS Office of Product

Standards Policy, which serves as the

national focal point for domestic and in- ternational standards and certification in- formation. The directory summarizes the

standardization activities of more than 750 organizations in the United States,

including federal and state agencies and

approximately 420 private sector groups

that develop standards.

NEW GUIDES FOR MOBILE AND

PERSONAL RADIOS

Scott, Jr., W. W., Mobile Radio Guide,

Natl. Inst, of Justice (U.S.), 202-83, 45

pages (November 1983) and Shafer, J. F., Personal Radio Guide, Natl. Inst, of

Justice (U.S.), 203-83, 27 pages (August

1984). Order from the National Institute of Justice, National Criminal Justice Ref- erence Service, Washington, DC 20531.

Working for the National Institute of Justice, NBS has developed guidelines for the selection and procurement of two- way mobile and personal radios. Al- though written specifically for the law en- forcement community, these two user guides will be helpful to anyone who

plans to purchase and use two-way ra- dios. The guides cover such diverse topics as operational considerations, radio coverage, regulatory aspects, design and

construction, cost, maintenance, safety,

and purchasing hints.

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF

METALS

Hust, J. G. and Lankford, A. B., Thermal

Conductivity of Aluminum, Copper,

Iron, and Tungsten for Temperatures

From 1K to the Melting Point, Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), NBSIR 84-3007, 255

pages (June 1984). Order from NTIS by

stock no. PB 84-235878, $22 prepaid.

NBS has critically analyzed published data on the thermal conductivity of commercially pure aluminum, copper, iron, and tungsten. The results of this analysis are presented in this publication which in- cludes an extensive bibliography of the sources of the data, an explanation of the methods used in the analysis, and

discussions of the effects on thermal

conductivity of chemical impurities, physical defects, specimen size, and magnetic fields. "Smoothed values" for conductivity are calculated from the best data and listed for various temperatures

and residual resistivity ratios.

30
NEW NBS/NRC STEAM TABLES

Haar, L, Gallagher, J. S., and Kell, G. S., NBS/NRC Steam Tables, Hemisphere

Publishing Corp., (New York), 320 pages

(1984). Order from Hemisphere Publishing Corp., 79 Madison Avenue, New

York, NY 10016, $34.50 prepaid.

Eight of the world's leading industrial nations recently endorsed new steam ta- bles for scientific and general use. The

tables, which were developed by NBS

and the National Research Council of Canada, were endorsed through the In- ternational Association for the Properties

of Steam (IAPS). They are based on an

equation that establishes a formulation which provides scientists and engineers

with thermodynamically consistent data on the properties and density of water

from the triple point (the state of equilibrium between the solid, liquid, and va- por phase) to 2500 °C and from zero

pressure of an ideal gas to more than 20

kilobars. This equation makes it possible

to obtain pressure data 10 times higher than the previous IAPS formulation. The

tables will help scientists and engineers

in designing industrial and chemical pro- cesses; exploring for petroleum and minerals; designing heat transfer systems,

boilers, and turbines; and harnessing

geothermal energy.

IMPROVED GUIDE FOR INSPECTING

PACKAGED GOODS

Brickenkamp, C. S., Hasko, S., and Natrella, M. G., NBS Handbook

133—Second Edition: Checking The

Net Contents of Packaged Goods,

Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), NBS Hdbk. 133, 314 pages (October 1984). Order by

stock no. 003-003-02616-6 from GPO, $9

prepaid.

Quality control specialists in packaged

goods industries, such as foods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other con- sumer products, will be interested in this new, second edition guide. Adopted by

the National Conference on Weights and

Measures, the handbook is an easy

guide for testing packaged goods to de- termine that net contents conform to

packaging label requirements. Pro- cedures are provided for statistical sampling techniques to test individual lots of packages which include anything that is put into a container, wrapped, or banded

and labeled as to quantity. While devel- oped primarily for weights and measures

officials in the states, counties, and

cities, the handbook also is helpful for establishing content compliance by commercial and industrial firms involved in the packaging, distribution, and sale of packaged commodities.

INDUSTRIAL GUIDE TO ACCURATE

MASS MEASUREMENT

Jaeger, K. B. and Davis, R. S., A Primer

for Mass Metrology, Natl. Bur. Stand.

(U.S.), NBS Spec. Pub. 700-1, 81 pages

(November 1984). Order by stock no. 003-003-02621-2 from GPO, $3.25 prepaid.

Researchers from NBS and the Lock- heed Missiles and Space Company, Inc., have collaborated on this guide which

outlines fundamental concepts and equations and good metrology practice for the measurement of mass. The text also serves as a bibliography of more detailed NBS publications on mass measurement.

It is the first of the new NBS Industrial Measurement Series, which will feature

treatises on topics of special interest to

industrial metrologists, prepared jointly by

NBS and industrial specialists.

ULTRASONIC THICK-WELD

INSPECTIONS AUTOMATED

Fortunko, C. M., Schramm, R. E., Moulder, J. C, and McColskey, J. D., Electromagnetic-A coustic- Transducer/Synthetic-Aperture System For Thick-Weld Inspection, Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), NBS Tech. Note 1075,

117 pages (May 1984). Order from GPO

by stock no. 003-003-02578-0, $4. 75 prepaid.

A thick-weld inspection system recently

developed by NBS for the U.S. Navy

uses ultrasonic shear waves, polarized

parallel to the surface of a plate, to detect flaws in butt welds and determine

their size. Non-contacting

electromagnetic-acoustic transducers

(EMAT's) generate ultrasonic probe sig- nals and detect waves scattered from

defects in the welds. EMAT's, unlike conventional transducers, do not require fluid couplants or special surface preparation, so they can be used on virtually any sur- face: rough or smooth, hot or cold, rusty or painted. The system automatically scans the inspection site under computer

control, and processes the reflected waves to aid in determining flaw size. The computer uses synthetic-aperture

waveform reconstruction techniques to reduce interference in the noisy welding

environment. This publication describes the concept, design, and

operation of the system.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON ELECTROMAGNETIC TECHNOLOGY

Kamper, R. A. and Kline, K. E., editors, Metrology for Electromagnetic Technology: A Bibliography of NBS Publi- cations, Natl. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), NBSIR

84-3014, 66 pages (July 1984). Order by

stock no. PB 84- 1 12985 from NTIS, $10

prepaid.

Researchers in the NBS Electromagnetic

Technology Division have published their work in a wide variety of journals, texts, and NBS publications, covering research

in the fields of cryoelectronics, lasers, mi- crowaves, optical fibers, super- conductors, and other areas connected

with the measurement methods and

standards developed by NBS. This work

provides measurement support for a

broad range of industries and applications including telecommunications, la- sers, radar, instrumentation, electrical power generation and transmission, and

optical fibers. This publication lists these papers for the period 1970 through 1983.

ORDERING INFORMATION

To order publications from NTIS, send

request with payment to: National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA

22161. Publications can be ordered from

GPO by mailing order with payment to: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Gov- ernment Printing Office, Washington,

DC 20402.
CONFERENCE CALENDAR

1985 Trends and Applications Conference: Utilizing Computer Graphics,

Sheraton N.W. Washington, Silver Spring, MD

May 21-22, 1985

Techniques for using computer graphics

for greater productivity will be discussed

at the 1985 Trends and Applications

Conference. Presentations will address

current systems and applications as well as ongoing research into advanced concepts. The conference should provide

needed background for data processing

professionals in both government and

commercial sectors in the evolving areas

of new graphics technology, applications,

standards, management and controls, user interfaces, and overcoming barriers

to utilizing graphics. Sponsored by the In- stitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society and NBS. Contact: Joseph C. Collica, A245 Technology

Building, NBS, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,

301/921-2431.

Mechanisms of DNA Damage and Repair, NBS, Gaithersburg, MD

June 3-7, 1985

Although damage to DNA is believed to play a critical role in carcinogenesis, mutation, and numerous genetic disorders, we still have no mechanistic under- standing of how the majority of DNAdamaging agents work.

This conference will examine mechanisms of DNA damage, including strand breaks (single and double), base alter- ation or loss, crosslinks within DNA and

between DNA and proteins, and covalent and non-covalent binding. Other topics

will include the localization of damage in the genome, the relationships of DNA

damage to oncogene activation, and

DNA repair mechanisms.

The conference will also consider how

an understanding of the mechanisms of DNA damage and repair might be used

for accurate "dosimetry" of hazardous

exposure to chemicals, drugs, and ioniz- ing radiation. Sponsored by NBS, the National Cancer Institute, and the Radiation

Research Society. Contact: Dr. Michael

G. Simic, C216 Radiation Physics Building, NBS, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,

301/921-2374.

Workshop on Robot Standards,

Pontchartrain Hotel, Detroit, Ml

June 6-7, 1985

This workshop will provide a forum where

researchers, vendors, and users from

government, academia, and industry can

learn what is happening in robot stan- dards. Requirements and opportunities

for robot standards will be presented and

discussed. Topics include: control system

interfaces to robots, sensors, databases,

and high-level control systems; mechanical interfaces to grippers; programming

languages and environments; per- formance measures; and human inter- faces. Sponsored by NBS and the Navy/

NAVCIM Program; cosponsored by the Robotic Industries of America, ASTM, the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American National Stan- dards Institute, and the Electronic Industries Association. Contact: Leonard S. Haynes, A123 Metrology Building, NBS,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 301/921-2181.

International Conference on Biologically Induced Corrosion, NBS,

Gaithersburg, MD

June 10-12, 1985

This conference will focus on mechanisms, case histories, and experimental

methods of and remedial measures for biologically induced corrosion in both

natural and artificial environments. Special emphasis will be placed on corrosion mechanisms and on establishing the causative links between the simultaneous

observations of corrosion and the pres- ence of microorganisms. Sponsored by

the National Association of Corrosion Engineers and NBS. Contact: Dr. Warren P. Iverson, A331 Materials Building, NBS,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 301/921-2953.

International Conference on Chemical

Kinetics, NBS, Gaithersburg, MD

June 17-19, 1985

The progress and problems of current in- terest in theoretical and experimental

chemical kinetics will be reviewed by

leading scientists from universities, re- search laboratories, and industrial or- ganizations. A major goal will be to bridge the gap between theoretical and

experimental gas- and condensed-phase

phenomena and ionic and neutral species chemistry. The occasion will also be

used to honor Professor Sidney W.

Benson for the very important role he

has played over the past 30 years in fo- cusing attention on the themes of this conference. Six nonparallel sessions are planned, consisting of invited lectures, contributed poster sessions, and general

discussions. Each session will focus on one fundamental aspect of chemical ki- netics. Sponsored by NBS and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Contact: Dr. John T. Herron,

A147 Chemistry Building, NBS,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 301/921-2792

or Dr. Wing Tsang, A147 Chemistry

Building, NBS, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,

301/921-2775.

VLSI Chip Packaging Workshop,

Gaithersburg Marriott, Gaithersburg,

MD

September 9-11, 1985

This workshop has become a premier fo- rum for technical professionals in the

field of package development and analysis for VLSI integrated circuits. The topics covered will include large chips, high- lead-count packages, conventional and

pin-grid-array chip carriers, TAB and wire bonding, and electrical and thermal per- formance packages. Sponsored by the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Component Hybrids and

Manufacturing Technology Society, and

NBS. Contact: George G. Harman, B344

Technology Building, NBS, Gaithersburg,

MD 20899, 301/921-3541.

32
The National Bureau of Standards was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end,

the Bureau conducts research and provides: (1) a basis for the nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and

technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote

public safety. The Bureau's technical work is performed by the National Measurement Laboratory, the National Engineering

Laboratory, the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Center for Materials Science.

THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT

LABORATORY

Provides the national system of physical

and chemical measurement; coordinates

the system with measurement systems of other nations and furnishes essential ser- vices leading to accurate and uniform

physical and chemical measurement

throughout the nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce; provides

advisory and research services to other government agencies; conducts physical

and chemical research; develops, pro- duces, and distributes Standard Refer- ence Materials; and provides calibration services. The laboratory consists of the

following areas:

• Standard Reference Data

• Measurement Services

• Basic Standards

• Radiation Research

• Chemical Physics

• Analytical Chemistry

THE NATIONAL ENGINEERING

LABORATORY

Provides technology and technical ser- vices to the public and private sectors to address national needs and to solve national problems; conducts research in engineering and applied science in support

of these efforts; builds and maintains

competence in the necessary disciplines

required to carry out this research and

technical service; develops engineering

data and measurement capabilities; pro- vides engineering measurement traceability services; develops test methods

and proposes engineering standards and

code changes; develops and proposes new engineering practices; and develops

and improves mechanisms to transfer re- sults of its research to the ultimate user. The laboratory consists of the following centers:

• Applied Mathematics

• Electronics and Electrical Engineering

• Manufacturing Engineering

• Building Technology

• Fire Research

• Chemical Engineering

THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER

SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Conducts research and provides scientific and technical services to aid federal agencies in the selection, acquisition, application, and use of computer

technology to improve effectiveness and

economy in government operations in ac- cordance with Public Law 89-306 (40 U.S.C. 759), relevant Executive Orders,

and other directives; carries out this mission by managing the Federal Information Processing Standards Program, de- veloping federal ADP standards

guidelines, and managing federal participation in ADP voluntary standardization activities; provides scientific and

technological advisory services and as- sistance to federal agencies; and provides the technical foundation for computer-related policies of the federal government. The institute consists of the

following centers:

• Programming Science and Technology

• Computer Systems Engineering

THE CENTER FOR MATERIALS

SCIENCE

Conducts research and provides measurements, data, standards, reference

materials, quantitative understanding,

and other technical information funda- mental to the processing, structure, properties, and performance of materials; ad- dresses the scientific basis for new

advanced materials technologies; plans

research around cross-country scientific themes such as nondestructive evaluation and phase diagram development; oversees Bureau-wide technical pro- grams in nuclear reactor radiation re- search and nondestructive evaluation; and broadly disseminates generic technical information resulting from its pro- grams. The center consists of the following divisions:

• Nondestructive Evaluation

• Inorganic Materials

• Fracture and Deformation

• Polymers

• Metallurgy

• Reactor Radiation
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of-StandareteTM-——

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use, $300

BULK RATE

POSTAGE & FEES PAID NBS

PERMIT No G195